Tenpin-setter.



JQ o; MUFARLAND.

TBNPIN SETTER.

APPLICATION FILED DEO. 29, 1909.

. 975,445. Patented Nov. 15, 1910.

4 SHEETBPSHEET 1.

/ I l lNvENToR l J. o. .MIURARLANDl TENPIN SETTEB.,

APPLICATION FILED DBO.,29, 1909.

Patented 110111111910.

' 4 sums-SHEET 2.

-v IN1/Enron W/TNESSES J. C. MUFAR'LAND.

TBNPIN SETTER. APRLIoATIoN IILBDDBO. 29, 1909.

Patented Nov. 15, 1910.

4 SHEETS-SHEET?.

MM INVENTOR WITNESSES MTTORNY J.` G. MOFARLAND,

TENPIN SETTER. APPLIOATION FILED 11110.29. 1909.

rammed 11011.15, 1910.

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oooooo 0000000 00000000219 e o0/f2 006000000090909 WlTN ESSES INVENTOR ',J'OHN c. MoFARLaND, or- SPOK'ANE, WAsniNer'oN.

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Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Nov, 15, 1910.

Application led December 29, 1909. Serial No. 535,507.

To alltuhom it 'may concern: Be it known that I, J oiiN Spokane, in the `county 'of Spokane and State of Set-ters, of which the following is a 'specification.

` This invention pertains to apparatus for mechanicallyl setting ten-pins in the bowling alley, for clearing olf fallen pins, clearing the alley of the pins and re-setting the same. Most of the work is donev by mechanical means thrown lin and out of operation with continuously moving machinery at the will of the operator by-ineans of 'levers or other appliances ada-ptedto be operated with the hands or feet, the remainder of the Work being manual but cooperating with mechanical parts. Down pins are removed means of rods reaching through openings in the floor of the alley underneath-thesame, the

rods being longest in vthe vcenter of the `alley floor and -each tier thereof made shorter as the sides of thealley are approached, thereby forming an incline each way from the center o f the alley toward the sides thereof down 'A which the pins being removed will glide and be dropped into the. valley at the sides of the alley and -thence conveyed to their proper place for re-adjustment. The alley is finallyv cleared of all'pins by a rotating arm ad.

justed to sweep-*across the surface of the alleyinxsuch a'manner-as to remove all of ten-pins are the pins therefrom, sweeping them into the valleys at thesides of the alley from whence they are conveyed for re-adjustment upon the alley floor. The ,pins are re-set by being elevated to a position above the alley of which is a -rod-and into `which hopper the dropped one at a time, the pin dropping into the hopper in a horizontal po# ing across lpass through the crosswise of the rod andin fallthe rod, .thelar-ge end of the pin by means of 4the law of gravity is drawn downward,

sition, and

bottom ofthe ho per in an upright position,

Vithin'each of the tubes a lug att-ached to a'lever which in turn is attachedto a cross-arm connected by mesne levers tothe armoffa ratchet wheel by C. MoFAaLAun, 4'a citizen of the` United States, residing at lvasl'iington, have invented certainV new and useful Improvements in Tenpmf floor. and above t-wo systems of pipes surmounted by a funnel `shaped hopper across. the center` meansvof which and other mechanism hereinafter described the upper tier of'tubes are automatically adjusted so as to drop the tenpins in eachvofthe lower tubes which are anchored directly' above the places on the alley floor where it is rIhe lower tier of tubes are anchored to a slidable frame adapted to slide up and down on a set of standardsand are provided with a trip at the 'bottom wherebyl the ten-pins are released from the tubes' just as the tubes strike the' floor of the (alley, the tubes are then raised to an elevated position, and the pins are left standing inthe positions de'- si'red, and the bowling' alley is ready for a game.. Means are also provided' or Inechanically returning the balls to the front end of the alley, the saine being a process whereby the balls are-picked up by crescent shaped cups secured -to a canvas rotating upon rollers, than the front end of the valley, dropped into valleys and returned by gravity to the front end of the alley.

In the drawings, view. of the systems of pipes used yto adjust the ten-pins together with .the mechanical vmeans adapted for their proper adjustment and regulation, Fig. 2, is a front elevation of the saine, Fig. 3, is a perspective view of the systems of tubes together with theframeing their application to a bowling alley together with means for elevating the ten-pins to a position above the systems of tubes for readjustment and means balls for returnto the front ofthe alley,

ances for sweeping the alley of the tenins, 'Fig 5, is a View of the upper end o one of the lower tubes, Fig. 6, is a View of the lower end of one ofthe tubes, Fig. 7, is a .top plan View of thealley floor upon which the ten-pins are to be set, together with inechanical means for clearing the same o thereby causing the ten-pin to',

thence into one o the tubesl of the upper tier and from thence into a tube f the the same.

frame 11, supported by the standards 121, v122, -12S and 124. Slidably connected with the. said standards are the frames 13 and l-ft, carrying the lower set of tubes 15.' Directly above the lower set-of tubes 15 and slidably adjusted tothe horizontal rods '16 is the upper set of tubes'l? is a hopper 18 across desired to set the pins.-

for elevating the Fig. 4,-is a view of .the gearing and appliten-pins, and Fig. 8, is a side elevation of.

upper setof tubes 17. Suspended above the elevated to ia higher position j so Figure 1, is a top plan work for their proper adjustment and showy -Directly above the alley 10 is anchored a 6 o the horizontal Vshaft-54, the disk 53 ',bear

7 10 and extending from- A a ,point belpwthe' thence forwardly and con.-`

"necting with `the same upwardly,

hopper 18 is a chain elevator 20 provided at intervalsv with horizontally arrangedecups or plates '21, the

.chains 20 being endless' and rotating over v27, connecting with the inclined plane 2 8'- 'sproclret wheels 22, the said chains in their y upward journey being inclos'ed- Awithin the box 23, excepting that a small o ening 24 .is left on the inner side and neart e bottom of an inclined alley 10 and t e longitudinally arranged valleys 26.

l. Transversely yarranged at the foot of the inclined planes 251, '252 and' 253 is a valley .reaching to apoint above the cups 29 upon .perpendicular arm 40 which is also pivoted end to the horizontal' lever 41.

'hinge thel elevatr 30. .Loosely standard 124L is a combined horizontal beveled gear (32'.

l'land horizontally arm '33. 'Encirclin the standard 12* diectly underneath te beveled gear 32 is a collar 34 and acoil spring 35, the said coil spring hein secured at one .end to the collar he other end to the downwardly hinge 31 and a Secured to the projecting arm .36 ofthe hinge 31, FDirectly above the beveled gear 32 and encirclin the is a. casing. 37 `provided with a Stud 38 carrying a mutilated beveled gear to the mutilated gear 39 -is the at Aits upper Secured to the underside ofthe frame- 1L and extending 4'obliq'uely downward is an arm 42,to ,which -is lever 4l. A lug '43. '1s secured'to the outer "surface-oit the collar 44, offthefra'me 13 'against'theunderside of which is adapted `to -rest the end bof thelever 41. t

l. 1- and fortha cross 4lever 52. The'lever'52 is attachetf to -a disk 553 and to 65: *.t. 62 at; .the-'Other end tothe lever-58 Directly underneath'the 'alley flcor 10 is i 45'. a platform 46' slidably adjusted to the stand'- the platform 46 are v rods48 ards 47. Extending vertically upward from directly 'above which and extending through the alleyfloor l' f 10 are smallopenings 49. Attached to one- 56 side of the platform 46 and horizontally arranged ilie'rewith'is an oblong -slotted arm `50Ywithin. which is adapted to slidejback head 5 1 attached to the gether they are. loosely adjusted lng instia pulley: 55. A coil spring 56 ala between the pulley horizontal armf 58 with the other 'en w at cable 64'. is' tothe and the dis between the lane 25 leading from' the which one end of the arm --71 is ada nected to a cable 76 encircling they arranged is anl pivoted the horizontal glide upward *and downward;

the. lugs .of .the 4tubes .15 -are lever 58, passes over the pulley 65 and asses to a source of power. A horizontaly ar ranged shaft 66 carries a pulley 67,- a disk 68, 'a coil spring 69 and vanarni 70, the pulley 67 bein rigidly secured to the'shaft 66,-

' 68' and the coil pringf69 being loose upon the same. A horizontally arran ed arm 71 loosely adjusted through the orui es'72 is encircled'b a coil spring 73 -ides 72, t esaid coil'spring 73 being ri i ly securedto the arm 71 at one -end ther vas at .74, and being loose at the other end. A notch. 75-is provided in the peripheral surface of the disk 68 within pted to rest, the other end ofthe arm l71 1sconwhichreaches to a source of power.

Rigidly4 secured to the andlevers 79, the former extending into the tubes v15, and the latter beingsecured by the 4pins 80`to the horizontalarms 81. Ther horizontal arms 81 are secured by. pins 82 loosely to one while the .other end1 of the short levers 83 pins-77 are'lugs 78 end of the short levers 83,

are rigidly secured. to the pin 84. One end of the short lever 85 isfalso to the dpin 84, while the other end is loosely secure by the pin 86 to the lever 87. One end of the lever .88 is loosely secured to the lever 87 ,by the pinl 89, While the other end thereof is looselysec1 1 red-'to.thearml 90 by the p i'n 91. A horizontalshaft 92. supported by t e standard 93 carries a coil spring 94, a ratchet 95 a disk 110 and afplleylll, and .two arms 90 and 96,fthe shorter. one 90 of which is. loose u onthe shaft, and the. longer one 96 of whic cured to theend of the arm. 96 by the pin 98` and the other end is loosely secured'to a frame carrying the upper and slidably mounted on,the rods 16. An arm' 100 reaching from. the Stan`d`ard'93 carries a-stud 101 encircled by a coil spring 102 rigidly secured at one 'endl to \t he arm 100 and at the other .end to the l'evei` '88.

.Secured to the bottomends of the tubes 15 on the outside theeof are L'shaped/ springs 103- iwith the ends 'thereof-104 prqgecting through openings in the' wallslof th'e tubes -1 5 an extending into the cavities -With`in"'thef elbow of thesaid L shaped springs- 103 are. loosely between which'and the outer walls'- of the thereof.'

Secured rollers 1.05

rigidly secured is rigidly vsecured vto the shaft. .One end ofthe arm set of tubesl 17 .tn bes 15,- beveled .lugs-.106 are adapted to a Underneath .10 6' fand secured to t he bottom' endsv 108 thei-Tsaid Shafts-5108 .being .encircled by c'oilfspring 109,- the saidl shafts r1.08/x'ulapted' earmgs 107- lf'nd come 1n contact with the bottoms of thehs belong/enough fox-' each.

`- 106. intended that to 'glide upwardmnddownward through the.

" to rotate with the pulley to contain two or three pins one above the other.

In the practical o eration of the appara tus, thc ten-pins wou d be set in their proper places upon the alley floor 10, the player would roll the ball and the .down pins would be removed by means of a lever or other mechanism operated by the foot .or hand and connected with the cable64 whereby the said cable would draw upward the lever 58 releasing the same f rom the notch in the disk 53 and permitting' the disk 53 55 thereby carrying the cross-head 51 at 'the end of the lever 52 upward and elevating the platform 46 by means of which the pins 48 are forced through the ol'ieuing's '-1-9 in the alley Hoor 1() and raisi-ngthe down, pins 112 from the alley .floor "10 and causing them to be dropped to the sides ofthe alley floor 10, striking the. inclined planes' 251 'and Q5? from whence. they would be conveyed by gravity onto and across .the inclined plane 25 and'deposited at the bottom of the opening' Q4 from whence they would bepicked up by the buckets 21 uponthe .chain elevator, iconveyed 'upward through vthe box 23 and bc deposited vacross the bolt 19 where by means of gravity the heavy eiid would be turned dmvnward and .the pins ydropped into the upper Atier of tubes 17 and from thence into the lower-tier of' tubes 15 vand .there retained for future settings ofthe pins upon the alley floor 10. The pins 113 remaining standing would then bein Fcondition for the second ball it is desired to clear the alley .floor 10 for a re-setting` of the pins,-v the cable 76 is Idrawn by the application of the foot upon a lever attached thereto or otherwise, thereby drawing' the arm 71 from the notch 75 in the disk 68 thereby permitting' the disk 68 and the short arm 70 to rotate with the pulley (37, the short varm 70 carrying with it the` long arm 114, which is connected at its lowerend with the framelet andl the frame 14e belng connected with the frame 13 by y means' of the tubes 15, both theframes 14 which in turn presses downward the arm 11()4 l55 and 13 and vtubes are forced downward. The end of the lever 41 resting underneath the. lug L13 of .the collar 14 of theend of the frame 13 causes the lever L1l to be` carried downward also withthe frames l13 and 4,

connected with the Abeveled gear 39, causing e 1 the same to rotate and the same being condown nected with the horizontal .beveled gear 32 i if connected with the horizontal arm 33, causes' the arm 33to rotate horizontally. The vhorizontal rotation ofthe arm `33 sweeps al] of the remaihing down pinsbackward to and the -J inclined plane 252 thence over the inclined plane 25to the foot of the opening 24`t0 b vthere "picked up by the cups 21 and elevatedto the hopper l8' and there be of the player. then The pulleys 55,

theI 4mechanism `-connected l herewith. respective` cotil ing machinery,

15. heretofore conveyed backl to the tubes 35 enen-(cling the described. The coil spring .standard 124 and connected with the arm 33 will assist in carrying the arm 33 back to o r a repeated operation. As the tubes 15 are lowered,'the shafts 108 strike the alley floor 10 andare forced upward through against the-lugs 106,-which in yturn are forced upward thereby crowding outward the L Ishaped springs 103 which'clears' the its original position the bearings 107 and obstruction in the tubes 15 and permits a set of ten-pins to drop to the alley floor 10. `*'l'he continued rot-ation of the short arm. 70 and the disk G8 causes the long arm 114 vto return theffr'ames 13v and 1.4 and .the tubes 15 to their former elevated position. The

arm 71 with the assistance of the coil spring 73 will be forced back int-o the notch75 in the disk (S8 and the mechanism will then be held in position until desired. rl`he filling of the tubes 15 with the ten-pins is done automatically as follows:

future operation is A pin dropped across the. rod 19 in the hopper 'l8 and is` brought to an upright position by the law 'of gravity with the big end downward, the salne passes into-one of the tubes 17 and from thence into one of the tubes 15, and as'it enters the top of one of the tubes 15, it strikes the lug 78 connected with the lever 79, the weight of the pin is sufficient to drivethe lug 78 out of its way thereby driving the lever backward and`- drawing the rod 81,. this in tiirn draws the `lever 83 which in turn ydraws downward the lever 85,` which in turn drawsdownward the levers 87 and88. thereby releasing'thc latch 115 from the ratchet in the wheel 95 and permit-ting the. same to rotate to the next notch in the ratchet carrying with it the long arm 915 connected arm 9T to the upper tier of tubes 17, the latch 115 engages another ratch/t in the wheel 95 and the next pin dropped through the hopper 18 will fall into a separateftubc by an oblique in the tier 17 and be conveyed to aN different tube in the tier 15 and so on until 'all of the tubes are filled and the arm 97 in its process of'rotation -on its 'return trip willjconvey tubes 17 in the opposite direction, s o that the processl may be made-continuous. 67 and 111 lare connected by bands with continuously moving machinery yandthe coil springsG, G9 and 94 arb calculated to be strong enough. to force the re-q spective drums against .thedisks 5 3, 68 and 11() with sufficient force to cause thel disks named to rotate .with the dr s and operate springs throughout the apparatus are calculated to return the parts connected therewith tothe normal positionsY shown-in the drawings. andfQO are connectedwit'h continuously m'ovthe fr'mer being adapted to'.

The

The elevators 30 iso receive 'upon itsl cups 29 from' the inclined frontend ofthe bowling alley. I (lo not wishto lbe limited -to the detailed mechanical-means described for adjusting the -sys-f.

.y 'tems Iof tubes orfoperatingthe other devices to be specified i'ntheclaims.

employed in accomplishing the results obtained -inasmuch asl deem the lvaluable features of my invention consist in the applica. tion of the main and more important parts Having thus described my invention, what I I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a ten .pin setter, the 'combination of two sets of. tubes adjustably .anchored abovey an alley iloor,`"one above the other, the tubes of the lower set .being arranged directly abov'ethe places designed for the setting of `the pins, a"hopper a ove'the upper set of across' the same, horizontal and vertical sets o f rods,.'n neans for 'adjusting the upper set foftubes'horizontally andmeans for ladjusting the lower set of bes )vertically upon the horizontal 'and vertical rods, respec`. tively, a horizontally rotating-'arm underneath thetube's and above the alley-floor, an

tothe elevator, such elevator adapted to elevator at theA rear of .the alley licor, in-

clined planesfreaching from the alley oor carryr pinsfromfthe lov'vernds of the inclinedplanes below the'v level of the alley floor to a position above'the hopper, all opf erated by continuously moving machinery j and self-adjusting-parts.

'above the placesdesi 2. -In a. ten pinfsetter, the combination of two sets of tubes adjustably anchored above an alley oor,'one above the'other, the tubes of the 'lower' set being arranged. directly ed for-the setting of the pins, a 'hopper a ove the :upper'set of f vtubes having a rodhorizontally arranged across the' same, horizontal' and vertical. sets; of rods, Vmeans for-'adjusting the fupper set 'lower ends of the inclined for raising 'of tubes horizontally and means for' adjsting the lower set of 4tubes vertically upon the horizontal and vertical rods, respectively, a. horizontally rotating arm underneath' the l tubes-and above the alley floor, an elevator at the rear of the alley Hoor, inclined planes i reaching from the' alley floor tothe elevator,

-such elevator adaptedto carrly pins from the p anes belowthe level o f the-alleyoor to a position 'above a `the hopper, all operated by continuously 'moving machinery 'and self-adjusting parts,

together with' Va-subjacentlyQarra ed platform rovided with perpendicu ar rods adapted) to penetratekope'ning's throu the' a alley floor, continuously moving mac me i and lowering the same, an

means forbringingsaidmachineryinto op, l

erative relation withnsaid platform.k

.3. In a ,ten` pin setter, the combination of two sets of tubes adjustably'anchoredfabove an alley Hoor, one above the other, the tubes vof thelowe'r' set .being arran'g'ged `directly above the places designed for the setting of.

the)pin s,a hopper above the' upper set of tubes having a .rod horizontally arranged acrossthe same, horizontal and-vertical sets of rods, meansfo'radjusting the upper set at their upper ends with lug'and lever trigp'lng device cooperating with means for a justine,` the upper set of tubes andaprovided at their lower ends' withfthe`lug and spring tripplng device as means for dropping a set Vof pins therefromtothe al1ey`loor.

- of tubes horizontally andemeans for adjustf ing the lower setjof tubes verticallyL upon the horizontal and vertical rods, res ec- "tively, th"said-lower'set of tubes providedV In testimonyA whereof I- 'aliix'my signa- I 

